The Daily Star report that United boss Jose Mourinho is still desperate to land the forward after talks of a move this summer were halted when he signed a new five-year deal with the Rojiblancos.

He opted to stay at Atletico to see out the clubs transfer ban that ends in January.

It may still be hard to bring the French ace to Manchester that early though, with the January transfer window being more difficult to make major moves.

So Mourinho may be without the iconic jersey on the pitch for the entire season.

The No. 7 has been worn by United legends including George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo – Mourinho has Griezmann lined up as the next star to be honoured with the number.

The £100m set aside will be enough to activate the strikers release clause but even with the early preparations at Old trafford they will likely still face fierce competition from around Europe.

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